Hey Guys,
Visited here with Andrew B and Dubbed Navigator recently.
The Explore
Ever since I first visited the Bass Maltings I have been enchanted by it ruinous state, and dumbfounded by its sheer scale. This Grade II* listed structure has had a rather unfortunate history, being too big to be commerically viable, and suffering at the hands of several arsonists.
Today the maltings awaits redevolopment as a residential/commerical and retail park. The scheme can be found here: Bass Maltings Planning Application, however it has always been my opinion that this building be left to decay in peace as a ruin. The scheme does little justice to the build quality and history of the site, appearing to care more about how many residential units can be crammed into its gutted shell, than how a contemporary intervention might sit alongside a building of such scale.
Not only do the matlings dwarf the town of Sleaford they are a local icon and although I am not a resident of Sleaford I hope that the maltings may continue to ‘rot in peace’ and serve as a sublime memorial to our vanishing historic industrial landscape. For more information about the malting process at Sleaford see my earlier report
The Bass Maltings were built between 1903 and 1906 by Bass Ratcliff & Gretton's chief Engineer and Architect Herbert A Couchman. The maltings at Sleaford are considered Couchman's best work, however his earlier Shobnall Maltings (1891) bears many resemblances:
Regards,
Visited here with Andrew B and Dubbed Navigator recently.
The Explore
Ever since I first visited the Bass Maltings I have been enchanted by it ruinous state, and dumbfounded by its sheer scale. This Grade II* listed structure has had a rather unfortunate history, being too big to be commerically viable, and suffering at the hands of several arsonists.
Today the maltings awaits redevolopment as a residential/commerical and retail park. The scheme can be found here: Bass Maltings Planning Application, however it has always been my opinion that this building be left to decay in peace as a ruin. The scheme does little justice to the build quality and history of the site, appearing to care more about how many residential units can be crammed into its gutted shell, than how a contemporary intervention might sit alongside a building of such scale.
Not only do the matlings dwarf the town of Sleaford they are a local icon and although I am not a resident of Sleaford I hope that the maltings may continue to ‘rot in peace’ and serve as a sublime memorial to our vanishing historic industrial landscape. For more information about the malting process at Sleaford see my earlier report
The Bass Maltings were built between 1903 and 1906 by Bass Ratcliff & Gretton's chief Engineer and Architect Herbert A Couchman. The maltings at Sleaford are considered Couchman's best work, however his earlier Shobnall Maltings (1891) bears many resemblances:
Couchman's Shobnall Maltings:
The Maltings when completed in 1906
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The Maltings when completed in 1906
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Regards,
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